From John Henwood.
I HAVE long been of the view that the introduction of another supermarket will do little or nothing towards an overall reduction in prices while threatening the existence of smaller convenience shops. However, a recent experience has caused me to pause for thought.

Last week I went into a supermarket – one of the big two – to make a single purchase, a 250-gram pack of marzipan. The item was marked £1.61, but on checkout I was charged £2.07. I called the supervisor, showed her my receipt and the shelf price and she immediately offered to refund the difference, removing the shelf price ticket as she did so. I asked how this could happen. She explained the price had gone up, but someone had forgotten to change the shelf price.

So, 250 grams of marzipan had increased in price by 46p, or nearly 29%. I have a pretty good idea how markets work and understand that demand for items like marzipan increases in the pre-Christmas period, but an increase of this dimension is simply taking advantage of the consumer’s relative lack of choice. Of course, if the price of one seasonal speciality is increased by almost a third chances are many other lines are similarly hiked. More often than not, a busy shopper probably would not notice.

It is this sort of treatment that infuriates customers who hate nothing more than feeling they have been taken for a ride. I remain of the opinion that the introduction of a Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Lidl will have, at best, a marginal effect on the overall cost of the weekly shop, but if we do end up with one of them in Jersey those who take ruthless advantage of the reduced competition one expects in a small market will only have themselves to blame.
Les Carrières,
Route du Mont Mado,
St John.